1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for controlling and monitoring aircraft cabin systems, for example the functions of the information, audio, video, lighting, door, water supply, or wastewater systems, and further relates to a method for operating the apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Background
The operation and status of present day aircraft cabin systems are typically controlled and monitored from operating devices having simple input key panels and relatively small liquid crystal displays. With such operating devices, the functionality of the display and of the input keys is quite limited, or even strictly fixed to a respective single assigned function. In other words, there is little or no flexibility or adaptability of the present day conventional operating devices to accommodate changes of the respective cabin systems that are to be controlled or monitored. Therefore, the technical possibilities with regard to the expansion, flexibility, and adaptation to the most modem technologies are completely exhausted. There is a need to provide a more versatile, adaptable, user-friendly, and intuitively operable device for monitoring and controlling aircraft cabin systems.